We tend to think of plants as mild-mannered. But some plants like to eat meat, and they catch their own food. If you're interested in these fascinating carnivores, here are some tips for getting started.

• Don't start with a typical Venus flytrap; instead, try hybrids or cultivars, which are bigger and easier to grow. Look for 'Dentate,' 'Red Dragon' or 'Green Dragon.' The sundew group is also a good choice for starting a collection.

Priscilla ConnellA Venus flytrap eats lunch.

• Never fertilize carnivorous plants.

• No need to catch insects for your plants. They will attract and devour them all on their own.

• Never use regular potting soil for them. There are hundreds of recipes, but the basic one is a mixture of half peat moss and half perlite.

• Use pea gravel as a top-dressing in pots. Traps will grow larger because of retained heat.

• Don't worry when your plant turns brown or seems to disappear in winter. These plants go dormant between November and late April.

• Don't poke the traps. Traps close only three to five times, then die. If you poke them, they won't get the nourishment they need from flies.

• See native and nonnative carnivorous plants in a bog setting at Berry Botanic Garden, by reservation: 503-636-4112 or www.berrybot.org. Also, see native cobra lilies (Darlingtonia californica) at the Darlingtonia Botanical Wayside, five miles north of Florence on U.S. 101.

• Buy carnivorous plants locally from Sarracenia Northwest.. There are many other online sources, including California Carnivores, and you can sometimes find the more common carnivorous plants at nurseries and garden centers.

-- HGNW staff

If you want to automatically receive a daily homes and gardens tip, sign up here.